"The Shameless Promotion and Endless Plug-Your-Novel Thread"

[davidhburton]

Sitting at the foot of someone's bed until they read it?

Brilliant!! New tactic!! Thanks for the suggestion!

... now, I will need addresses. Not too many at once, maybe five at a time.

OK, Maureen, I'll creep you out first ... err, I mean you go first!

[davidhburton]

On a more serious note (me? serious? ) I think this works because we keep it fun, light-hearted and more-or-less isloated to this thread. (Thank-you Dr. Drib for your foresight!) I know there are those on this forum that completely snub this thread (people get easily irritated by authors pimping their wares) and it's better we keep our "shamelessness" to ourselves. And others, that want to, can read/participate in the fun whenever they want.

I this thread!

Seriousness finished.

[MaMiller]

Umm...here's that email list you were looking for, David.

myboss@myjobisstupid.com
badneighbor@isloudandhasstrangepeopleover.com
guy@parkscrookednexttome.com

And your seriousness was appreciated, but I do like the jester hat!

[davidhburton]

Thanks! I will start emailing them right away along with:
editor@wouldntknowagoodbookifitbityouinthebehind.c om
no@imnotbitteratall.com


Any others?

[davison]

Agree with the sentiments above. This thread has been a lot of fun. Like a therapy in fact...
from steve@imreallynotintopluggingmybook.com

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by davison

Agree with the sentiments above. This thread has been a lot of fun. Like a therapy in fact...
from steve@imreallynotintopluggingmybook.com

Therapy sessions are now underway.

Only the Shameless need apply.

(I must warn you that your application will be checked by "Bulls**t Experts.")



Don
(Moderator)

[Michael J Hunt]

I'm going to break with tradition here and not plug my books (although don't bet on my not doing so in future). I'm a newbie, so please forgive me suggesting this so early on, but it would be really interesting to read a few words about how authors came to write their particular book(s) - a little like DixieGal has done on behalf of her husband. Maybe three or four paragraphs at most.

MJ

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Okay, I'll bite. (It's a slow day.)

For those who came in late, The House of Jacquarelle is told around characters and settings that I originally developed to be a Star Trek series... back when Paramount was looking for a new series to run after Voyager had run its course. It was intended to look at the civilian side of the Federation, the life we never saw in all those paramilitary Trek series. In (little-known) fact, Captain Carolyn Kestral was inspired by a character in a Trek novel, Prime Directive.

When the Trek connection fizzled (they chose Enterprise. Go figure.), I redeveloped the setting and characters to be original, but still vaguely familiar to Trek fans, adding a few elements that I felt made it more realistic overall. I received quite a surprise when, not long afterward, I saw Joss Whedon use a lot of those same elements for his new series Firefly! A saying about "great minds" springs to me...

Anyway, Kestral and crew were a big hit right off, and quickly shot to the top of my fan e-mail "We want more of that!" list. My premise that civilian characters could still have rollicking adventures turned out to be spot-on, and I think the added realism of the setting makes it much more believable, and just as much fun! And the characters have proven to be well-suited to expansion and development, but still distinct individuals that make for a coherent and well-balanced whole.

In short, these have become my "go-to" characters, the ones I could write about for years. If I ever became famous someday for creating this particular series, it wouldn't bother me a bit.

[TC Beacham]

Okay, shameless sounds fun - and I'm running a $.99 Spring Special...

LEAVE ME GASPING is the first title in a series featuring female sleuth Del Jakes, a high-stakes mystery that pairs feminine sensibilities with sleek, fast-paced storytelling. A childhood friend is missing and Del travels home to coastal Florida. In a whirlwind of clues and revelations, the sleuth and her cohorts move from a grungy marina grill to a luxurious waterfront enclave; Sound side towns to Gulf side mangrove thickets; suspicion to trust; despair to hope-and grief to love.


ESCAPING CELIA is the story of Carly O'Shea, whose long-awaited solo vacation is derailed when her mother, aunt, and relentless cousin Celia invade her seaside cottage. Stir in a snarly runaway teen, a hot guitar player, a cool Southern boy, a gun-toting matron, and a wise boardwalk barista-and you've got the kind of summer stew that gives everybody heartburn!

[dreams]

Originally Posted by MaMiller

Umm...here's that email list you were looking for, David.

myboss@myjobisstupid.com
badneighbor@isloudandhasstrangepeopleover.com
guy@parkscrookednexttome.com

And your seriousness was appreciated, but I do like the jester hat!

Originally Posted by davidhburton

Thanks! I will start emailing them right away along with:
editor@wouldntknowagoodbookifitbityouinthebehind.c om
no@imnotbitteratall.com


Any others?

Originally Posted by davison

Agree with the sentiments above. This thread has been a lot of fun. Like a therapy in fact...
from steve@imreallynotintopluggingmybook.com

Hey, I think I know some of those people..

[Steven Lyle Jordan]

Originally Posted by dreams

Hey, I think I know some of those people..

Hey, I think I am some of these people...

[pdurrant]

My latest publication: A new collection of "Kai Lung" stories by Ernest Bramah, including four previously unpublished stories. Related by Kai Lung, an itinerant story-teller, these stories, set in an Ancient China that never was, entertain with their wonderful use of language, and the reader will frequently find "his gravity displaced" by a particularly apt turn of phrase.

This collection of eleven stories includes four previously unpublished stories. Of the remaining stories, six were published in a very limited edition (Kai Lung: Six) and the seventh has only appeared once before in print (The Specimen Case).

Shortly to be available in the Amazon Kindle store in DRM-free Kindle/Mobipocket format ($7.99):

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003E48ABA/

And also available in DRM-free ePub format at Lulu.com (£5.99):

http://www.lulu.com/product/6531933

And of course, also available in a paperback version from Amazon, but I won't bother giving that link here!

[plumboz]

Boomerang, yes, Boomerang, I said Boomerang, the most exciting publishing event of this or any other season, is an amazing investment for the discriminating book lover and savvy financial guru alike. Early editions have been auctioned at Christies for well over half of retail. The general public gladly subscribes to it on a monthly installment basis, with regular withdrawals from their checking accounts in order to savor each chapter as it is released.

But,

Yes, I said But!

What But? you may say.

Well, this But!

But...you can own a genuine, certified, authentic download of the literary gem that has the critics ga-ga and the Librarian's Guild beside itself, for the teensie tiny sum of just $.99!

Yes! Ninety-nine cents!

Your eyes are not deceiving you.

99 cents!

But hurry, this special offer is good only through March 30, 2010.

Click on the Smashwords link to get your very own copy of Boomerang before it's too late! Coupon code CU67Y.

[Dr. Drib]

Originally Posted by pdurrant

My latest publication: A new collection of "Kai Lung" stories by Ernest Bramah, including four previously unpublished stories. Related by Kai Lung, an itinerant story-teller, these stories, set in an Ancient China that never was, entertain with their wonderful use of language, and the reader will frequently find "his gravity displaced" by a particularly apt turn of phrase.

This collection of eleven stories includes four previously unpublished stories. Of the remaining stories, six were published in a very limited edition (Kai Lung: Six) and the seventh has only appeared once before in print (The Specimen Case).

Shortly to be available in the Amazon Kindle store in DRM-free Kindle/Mobipocket format ($7.99):

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003E48ABA/

And also available in DRM-free ePub format at Lulu.com (£5.99):

http://www.lulu.com/product/6531933

And of course, also available in a paperback version from Amazon, but I won't bother giving that link here!

I'm a huge fan of Ernest Bramah and his Kai Lung stories.

Are you single-spacing between paragraphs? And when do you expect this to be available?

Thanks,
Don

[pdurrant]

Originally Posted by Dr. Drib

I'm a huge fan of Ernest Bramah and his Kai Lung stories.

Are you single-spacing between paragraphs? And when do you expect this to available?

The book is available as ePub NOW from Lulu.com

http://www.lulu.com/product/6531933

A sample is available that will let you see the style of the publication, and give the preface and the lead-in to the first story.

Come to think of it - I attach the sample ePub here.

The Kindle version seems to be live at the moment for US customers, but I got an email from Amazon this morning, where they are under the misapprehension that it's a public domain text in the US, and so they're restricting it to US sales at the moment. Since it's not public domain in the US at all and I have world-wide publication rights, I've sent them back an email to that effect, so hopefully in a day or two it'll be available for everyone.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003E48ABA/


Yes, paragraphs are single spaced with indents. But as both eub and Kindle/Mobipocket are free from DRM, if you want to reformat the text to add blank lines between paragraphs, you can easily use Calibre to do so.

Here's a Table of contents:

Preface
The Subtlety of Kang Chieng
Ming Tseuen and the Emergency
Lam-hoo and the Reward of Merit
Chung Pun and the Miraculous Peacocks
Yuen Yang and the Empty Lo-Chee Crate
Sing Tsung and the Exponent of Dark Magic
Kwey Chao and the Grateful Song Bird
Li Pao, Lucky Star and the Intruding Stranger
The Cupidity of Ah Pak
The Romance of Kwang the Fruit Gatherer
The Destiny of Cheng, the Son of Sha-kien
The Emperor Who Meant Well

Note that "The Emperor Who Meant Well" is a revised, shorter version of "The Romance of Kwang the Fruit Gatherer" and only appears in the ebook version.

Seven of the stories are definitely public domain* in Canada (Ming Tseuen and the Emergency, Lam-hoo and the Reward of Merit, Chung Pun and the Miraculous Peacocks, Yuen Yang and the Empty Lo-Chee Crate, Sing Tsung and the Exponent of Dark Magic, Kwey Chao and the Grateful Song Bird, Li Pao, Lucky Star and the Intruding Stranger). I'm not sure whether the other four are copyright in Canada or not. They're certainly copyright in the US and EU. The Preface is copyright everywhere.

*Actually, come to think of it, it might be that some of "Yuen Yang and the Empty Lo-Chee Crate" is not in the public domain in Canada, since the first several paragraphs were cut before its original publication.